#CancelTheCurfew campaign launched as Manchester bars battle 10pm serving ban
Local bars have launched Cancel The Curfew as they battle to get closing time pushed back - claiming that just 3% of infections are traced back to hospitality.
Bars and restaurants across Britain are banding together to launch a campaign entitled #CancelTheCurfew – armed with an open letter and petition to change the last orders law.
The latest COVID legislation – which forbids bars and restaurants from serving customers after 10pm – has been in force for less than 100 hours and is already attracting criticism from industry members.
Footage of crowds swarming out across Deansgate on Saturday at 22:01 were lambasted by Nighttime Economic Adviser Sacha Lord as both predictable and “shambolic.”
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has also asked the government to go back to the drawing board – arguing that the 10pm curfew could potentially “do more harm than good.“
Now, local bars themselves are battling to get closing time pushed back – claiming that just 3% of COVID infections in the UK are traced to these environments.
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Hospitality argues that pubs and restaurants are not the problem – and #CancelTheCurfew is a campaign that’s attempting to get the government to stop passing the buck to bars.
A petition is live and an open letter has been published.
After months reeling from the heavy blows inflicted by coronavirus, the sector is temporarily off the ropes and swinging back in a bid to overturn the law.
Adam Wilson of The Liars Group commented: “Hospitality has bent over backwards to work within the ever-changing guidelines and the figures have proven that we’re nailing it.
“3% of cases from F&B outlets compared to HUGE upswings in education, workplaces, care homes, basically everywhere ELSE, but it is apparently hospitality taking the blame – Stop Blaming Hospitality.
“Sending thousands of people out onto the streets at exactly the same time makes it impossible to distance and will almost guarantee another surge in cases – particularly when these people will then be piling into off licences, public transport and no doubt, kitchens.
“We changed licensing laws years ago to prevent public disorder and “speed drinking” before closing time and this undoes all that effort in the midst of a global pandemic – hence #cancelthecurfew.”
Tom “Timmy” De Santis, Co-Owner at Cocktail Beer Ramen & Bun, claimed he’d heard cries of ‘all back to mine’ on Saturday night around 10.15pm which “said it all.”
“What stings the most is that we are masters of customer care, and we have spent our cash and energy making our spaces as safe as we possibly can,” he added.
“Following vague guidelines and going over every bit of government rhetoric again and again to ensure we get it right. Yet here we are, penalised, singled out and suffering yet again.
“This isn’t about infection rates, this is about stigma, misunderstanding and knee jerk policy.
“It’s a joke.”
Dean Mac, Co-Founder of One Eight Six bar on Deansgate, said his staff felt like they were being punished for their determination to survive.
He said he is supporting #CancelTheCurfew as the 10pm ban is set to cut his bookings in half.
“We’ve also had to completely change our infrastructure so that we can open earlier to actually keep ourselves in operation,” he explained.
“Our team has worked incredibly hard to adapt to all the new changes over the weekend.
“We love welcoming all our guests, but to close our doors and say goodbye at 10pm was genuinely heartbreaking, especially when you could see how chaotic the streets were at that time.”
Mark “Tez” Taylor, the Co-Owner at Arcane, described the curfew as “stupidity”.
“First off, we’re forced to implement more extreme measures in venues with regards to investing in PPE, safety screens, booths, etc in order to comply,” said Tez.
“This was ok as it put customers at ease and got us all back in to work.
“Now that those guidelines have again changed and we’re forced into a drastic loss of trading hours, many venues are still licking their wounds having already invested hundreds if not thousands of pounds to ensure safety and compliance, leaving them in a financial hole once again.
“We’ve done everything we can to do our bit. Threatened with fines, closure and financial hardship and still we’re being punished.”
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Backing #CancelTheCurfew, Tez said the assumption people could leave in an orderly fashion at 10pm every evening was “unreal”.
“The failure to have the basic vision to see that every customer in every hospitality corner of every city in the UK, would be leaving at pretty much bang on 10pm, seven nights a week is unreal,” he added.
“Millions of people across the country, leaving a tightly controlled environment in a bar or restaurant, forced out into the streets in unison, many after power drinking over a few hours.
“It’s next-level stupidity from the top.”
News
A long-standing Italian restaurant in Trafford has sadly announced its imminent closure
Danny Jones
Another day, another bit of unfortunate hospitality news, as long-standing Greater Manchester restaurant, Little Italy in Timperley, has announced it is closing permanently very soon.
The Trafford favourite, which has been serving locals for nearly 20 years, has informed regular diners that it will sadly be closing its doors for good, with Little Italy’s final service set for later this month.
Having earned plenty of praise in its time, including being one of the few spots in and around the Altrincham area to have won a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence in 2015, before the borough saw its foodie boom begin.
But fast forward a decade, and the Timperley institution is yet another culinary casualty to be confirmed of late, with Little Italy sharing a tear-jerking statement online.
Sharing the tragic news on social media this Friday (5 Sep), the restaurant wrote: “To all our lovely customers, it is with a heavy heart that we share some news with you all. After over 18 years of serving you all in Timperley, we will be closing our doors later this month.
“This has not been an easy decision. Unfortunately, rising costs and a significant increase in rental [costs] have made it impossible to continue in a sustainable way. As much as we love what we do, the reality is that it has become too difficult to maintain under these circumstances.
“Over the coming weeks, we will continue to cook with love and serve with the same passion as always. We would love to see you all and share one more meal, and raise a glass together.”
Safe to say that the post has been met with an outpouring of condolences and support from natives nearby and those who have travelled to enjoy their food.
Little Italy went on to add that they will detail more about their final week of business as soon as possible.
They can’t be accused of not keeping up with times and not trying to promote via social media either, as they small family-run team – headed up by Sam Cauchi, who bought the site back in 2008 – have always given things a go besides the day-to-day operation of the restaurant.
Being one of many saddened customers to respond underneath the announcement, we couldn’t possibly sum up things better than local Vanessa Nice, who said: “Look at all these amazing comments – you certainly made your mark as a home from home for the residents of Timperley.
“The end of an era will always be sad, but sometimes life and families have to move on.”
As for Cauchi and co., they signed off by simply adding: “From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your support, kindness and friendship over the years. Timperley has been our home, and you have all been our family.
“Love from all the team at Little Italy.”
It goes without saying that we’re gutted for the gang and our thoughts are with everyone involved at this difficult time. For now, we can only say thank you to the countless Greater Manchester locations that continue to fall foul in the face of the rising pressures industry-wide. Case and point…
The bizarre explanation behind Manchester’s new mini ‘green space’ – that’s completely closed off
Danny Jones
One thing you always hear people who live in central Manchester calling out for is green space, but when a new patch of grass does arrive, you don’t exactly expect it to be completely inaccessible.
Just a quick FYI to those of you passionate about supporting what little nature there is left in our city centre: brace yourselves, as this one is rather annoying…
For anyone who’s walked down Whitworth Street West past the once lively Locks, or even got off at Deansgate–Castlefield tram stop and come down the glass stairs closest to the Albion Bridge, you may have noticed a rogue patch of grass surrounded by black fencing next to the City Road Inn pub.
It could be considered a nice little lawn were it not completely fenced off, but the question is, why has it popped up there? Well, local lad Curtis Rothwell has recently debunked the whole frustrating mess for us in a helpful video.
Yes, as explained by the Pre-Construction Manager who works for local utilities contractor Zenit Infrastructure Solutions Limited, the somewhat laughable but disheartening gated green space on Whitworth Street is essentially a feeble attempt at adhering to permission laws.
As detailed by Rothwell, the plot bought for a sizeable sum last year (only the original developers didn’t have the funding to actually pull off their initial plans) is now set to become student accommodation.
Currently, real estate firm Tri7 – which has now been fully folded into the parent group known as Fusion, as previous part-owners already – still has a hold on the land for now.
However, after being ordered by Manchester City Council to tidy up the area in the meantime, as they await planning permission to be fully approved, they decided to lay these new rolls of turf there.
Ok, so while the notion of the Council ordering a property company to make urban spaces look pretty and the idea of introducing more grassy zones into the city sound good on paper, as you can see, the real-life result doesn’t quite match up.
Not only does this feel like a bare minimum effort to appease the local authorities ahead of erecting yet another skyscraper, but more importantly, it feels like sheer nonchalant neglect and/or plain dismissal of those Manc residents crying out for more grass, nature and a break from the concrete jungle.
The fact that the rare green space is totally blocked by tall, almost authoritarian-feeling fences and sealed off by a big, black gate comes across like a casual two fingers to both the Council and those living in the city centre.
Speaking to The Manc, Curt commented: “It’s positive the council can take charge of how our empty spaces look after demolitions. In this case, maybe the demolition was carried out too early, which happens, but when it does, greenery is the best look they can give to local people.”
You can see the latest update on the planning permission HERE, and for now, if you’re looking for green spaces in Manchester, you’ll find them more frequently beyond the outskirts and heading into the boroughs; this one is strictly off limits. Find a whole bunch of ones that aren’t down below:
The Manc -
28th September 2020 
